Quillquina, a Bolivian food plant with medicinal and culinary uses, is not commonly found in North America. It belongs to the daisy family and has a flavor between cilantro and arugula. It is used in traditional cuisine throughout Central America and is a great alternative for people who dislike cilantro. It is also used as a treatment for high blood pressure and has liver cleansing properties. Quillquina is becoming more available in the United States.
Quillquina is a food plant native to Bolivia. It has both medicinal and culinary uses, although it is not commonly found in North America. Its scientific name is Porophyllum ruderale and it belongs to the daisy family. It shares a genus with poreleafs such as Gregg’s poreleaf and dwarf poreleaf, as well as the food plant pipicha or porophyllum tagetoides.
Quillquina also goes by several other names. It is sometimes called killi or papalo and is more commonly referred to as Bolivian coriander. Coriander is a plant known for its dried fruits as a spice in cooking. Cilantro leaves are more commonly referred to as coriander in the United States, and quillquina has a flavor that falls somewhere between cilantro and arugula, hence the name Bolivian coriander.
Quillquina is native to Bolivia and is used throughout Central America in traditional cuisine. It is also widely grown and used in Mexico. Quillquina is most commonly found as an addition to various sauces, and many recipes in the United States that use cilantro would traditionally use quillquina instead. The taste is slightly more bitter and adds a little more depth to a sauce than cilantro does in most cases.
Quillquina is preferable to cilantro for many people. It has less citrus flavor than cilantro and also has less tangy flavor that some people may find in cilantro. For people who dislike cilantro but want something with an extra pinch of parsley, quillquina can provide a great alternative.
Quillquina leaves are very fragrant and besides being used as a spice they can also be used as a green salad. In this context they can be seen as more similar to arugula. Quillquina has the same light bitter taste that makes arugula such a popular salad green, but it’s juicier and has a distinct flavor too.
Medicinally, quillquina has been in use for centuries in Central America. Quillquina is primarily used as a treatment for high blood pressure, although it also has liver cleansing properties on par with other bitter vegetables. Quillquina can simply be ingested directly or made into a tea with other herbs as medicine.
Quillquina is not particularly common in the United States. In recent years, however, several stores have begun carrying it in response to the wider popularity of Latin American cuisine. Quillquina seeds are also available online and in major seed stores, and the plant is fairly easy to grow, requiring similar growing conditions to cilantro itself.
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